This invention relates to water-dispersible pressure-sensitive adhesives and to normally tacky and pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes made therewith.
Papermaking and printing operations require splicing the end of one roll of paper to the beginning of another, as well as splicing together a roll after defective material is cut out. It is important that such splices be made quickly and easily, necessitating the use of an adhesive that rapidly attains maximum strength and retains it throughout subsequent operations. In an era where ecology and conservation are both vital concerns, it is important that the spliced portions not be destroyed but that they be returned to the paper mill for reprocessing; it is thus essential that the splices (particularly the adhesive which is used to make them) be water-dispersible and repulpable. This combination of requirements precludes the use of such conventional adhesives as normally tacky and pressure-sensitive rubber-resin adhesives. In the past, several water-soluble, pressure-sensitive adhesives have been devised and employed commercially, but none has been able to achieve the desired combination of physical properties and low cost.
An early adhesive used in splicing paper was polyacrylic acid, a water-soluble polymer which is rubbery in the presence of water but which becomes brittle and friable at low humidities. Sohl U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,421 discloses a splicing tape in which related rubbery polymer adhesives are blended with polypropylene glycol to impart flexibility, particularly in low humidity environments. Double-coated paper tapes made with such adhesives have been widely used in the papermaking and printing industry; although excellent in many respects, the release from the linear interleaved in the roll of tape is adversely influenced by high ambient humidity.
Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,430 discloses a splicing tape product in which the pressure-sensitive adhesive is a water-soluble acrylic acid:ether acrylate copolymer tackified with a liquid water-soluble plasticizer containing at least one ether linkage. Because of the ether linkage, this adhesive is inherently sensitive to oxidation, and its performance characteristics are greatly influenced by conditions to which it has previously been subjected. For example, exposure to high temperature (either before or after use in splicing) tends to reduce tackiness, flexibility, and repulpability. It is not always possible to protect the tape from such conditions.
Olson U.S. Pat. No. 3,661,874 discloses a water-soluble pressure-sensitive adhesive made by reacting an epoxidized rubbery polymer with a water-soluble secondary monoamine and tackifying the polymer with a water-soluble tackifier-plasticizer. When carefully formulated, this adhesive has outstanding physical characteristics, meeting all the requirements imposed by the papermaking industry, but the manufacturing process is complex and hence expensive.
Blake U.S. Pat. No. 3,865,770 discloses a water-dispersible pressure-sensitive adhesive in which an acrylate:vinyl carboxylic acid copolymer is reacted with a lower secondary or tertiary alkanolamine to impart water solubility, tackifiers (e.g., rosin) or plasticizers (oily, water-soluble polyoxyethylene compounds) being added if necessary. Adhesives of this type have excellent tackiness and heat stability, are readily repulpable, and are comparatively inexpensive. Special problems arise, however, when adhesives of this type are used to splice carbonless paper, the alkanolamine tending to volatilize and migrate, defeating the effectiveness of carbonless paper to perform its intended function, either by forming a stable complex with nickel ion which would otherwise react with a dithiooxamide derivative or by neutralizing the acidic substance which would otherwise impart color to an acid-activated dye.
Blake copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 390,638, filed June 21, 1982 (now U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,080), discloses a water-dispersible pressure-sensitive adhesive intended for use in splicing carbonless papers. This adhesive is a blended reaction product of acrylate, acidic rosin or rosin derivative, potassium hydroxide, sodium and/or lithium hydroxide, and an oily plasticizing water-soluble polyoxyethylene compound. Although effective in many circumstances, upon exposure to elevated temperatures, the plasticizer may separate and migrate into layers of paper adjacent the splice, causing transparentization and decreased adhesion. In addition, some of the NaOH present may migrate with the plasticizer desensitizing to some extent, the color-changing ability of the carbonless paper.